Back To RIM?... My Experience With Android

[wezra]

I had been using RIM devices for years... way back when they were basically pagers. Other than the behind the times OS, the devices themselves were high quality pieces of equipment. And of course, the push email could not be touched by anyone. Then, I decided to try Android. My first Android phone was the Cliq. Not a bad phone... just funky MotoBlur skewed the experience. Next on to the Cliq XT (which my son still uses) and a number of myTouch HTC devices... then the G2x. After going thru a number of the issues that many have had with the G2x, I loaded up Gingerbread and it transformed the device completely. No question, this now forgotten phone (especially by the Mods here on the forum), is simply one of the best Android phones on the market. All that said, my feeling about Android has gone somewhat flat.

Throughout my journey from one Android device to another it became clear that my experience has not been very consistant. I always seem to be waiting for the next Android OS upgrade feeling that the one I was on was not good enough or where the phone should be. Granted, during my Blackberry OS 5 days, I was checking every other day for some carrier to upgrade 5 to the next version. Blackberry OS 5 was awful, no question about it. But they seem to have moved forward with OS 7 to a far better user interface. My experience over the past year with Android seems to have left me flat. Not sure what it is. Maybe I am expecting something spectacular that really doesn't exist. Gingerbread was awsome in that it truly fixed the G2x and brought it up to what it should have been from the get-go out of the box. So what is next? Perhaps I need to go back to RIM and pick up an OS 7 device and use it for a while. That may re-fire my appreciation of Android back to what it was when I first started using it on the Cliq. Yes, even the Cliq was a decent enough phone that it gave me a nice feel for Andriod and allowed me to cut my teeth on what was then a new OS for me. Anyone else feeling a little burnt out on Android?... or is it just me?

 

[lobobuzz]

Anyone else feeling a little burnt out on Android?... or is it just me?

Not me... love Android, my G2x and my Xoom!! I still have a Blackberry for work and totally hate it... seems like it is 100 years old in terms of tech and usability.

 

[Yell0w]

Perhaps I need to go back to RIM and pick up an OS 7 device and use it for a while. That may re-fire my appreciation of Android back to what it was when I first started using it on the Cliq. Yes, even the Cliq was a decent enough phone that it gave me a nice feel for Andriod and allowed me to cut my teeth on what was then a new OS for me. Anyone else feeling a little burnt out on Android?... or is it just me?

I feel the same way, about two months ago, I purchased the G2x since I was feeling the android fire and wanted to try it out after using the blackberry bold 9700 for about 1 year and 6 months into my contract. At first, I really liked it since the whole OS is so much more responsive and advanced compared to what the bold 9700 can do, especially since there is no more wait clocks and the browsing is now superb!! After about 3 weeks in, I rooted the device and started flashing roms because the stock froyo wasn't cutting it for me since it would randomly restart and all these other little bugs making the device had a bad rep. With cyanogen installed, it was great, fast phone with 10-12 hours battery life however that was with very limited use. I barely touched the device at all, this battery issue is the one thing I dislike about the whole android experience, thus, the fire started flicking into a small fire.

About a week ago, my friend wanted to open a tmobile pre-paid plan. Since he was coming from AT&T, his iPhone would only get EDGE speeds so we traded phones for him to try it out the data plan and the whole android OS. I didn't want to get only EDGE speeds on tmobile using the iPhone so I reverted back to the blackberry since I was missing certain aspects from it, such as the battery life, the keyboard and somehow it seemed simple? Now that I'm into about a week back to blackberry, I clearly remember why I wanted to switch from it, there are certain websites I can't visit, or it will load up with with certain errors, like how I click on a part of my student loans website, and it would bring me back to the log-in page and this goes back and forth a couple times before I finally gave up. For some reason, the signal wold always fluctuate from 3G, EDGE, and GSM all without me moving. It's a good communication device that will be there in times of needs, but no multimedia is provided, such as the games. When I had the G2x, I would be playing baseball superstars on the train ride, but now, I can't. To sum up, I'm not even sure what to do anymore.

 

[cordsig79]

I had about 5 generations of BB, the big boy through out a 6 year span. I had a personal BB pearl, way outdated etc....just had bluetooth basically.

To me, this whole experience has reminded me of why buy a Mac when you only check email, surf the web, and stream a little media here and there.

I am probably going to jump back to RIM and try a new BB........

I have to carry a power cord with me everywhere..........

I just do FB, text, and emails........web surf minimally and I dont like the text and the thread features on Android.......if they can imitate apple iphone, why not bb funcitonality?

 

[exitrow]

I also came from a long string of bb's, and I probably won't go back due to the ease of the navigation, and quick internet access. Call quality seems a little worse, and it takes more time to navigate around. Also settings seem very randomly assorted. BB was very straightforward, but maybe that's because I was more used to it.

I do miss the keypad shortcuts and general ease of cutting/pasting, address book ease of use etc, but there are definitely things I do not miss from bb.

3-5 minute start up
calendar erasing entries
inability to open pdf's/docs seemingly at random
actually worse than my g2x for battery life

Seems like the scale slightly favors the g2x for me right now, but definitely not the runaway win I was expecting. Everyone always says, "but the apps, can't live w/o my apps!" Whatever, I have no interest in anyone for whom the ability to play angry birds is essential.

my .02

 

[BenSWoodruff]

BlackBerry peeps: try Tasker. You will like it. I only used a Storm for a couple months back when it was new, but I know your frustration. Android doesn't have everything perfect, but developers out there are good at making it better especially the people working on ROMs. Tasker is one app that doesn't need root and lets you make your phone better on your own. Yes, it's paid, but I think I have paid more if I had to lol.

G2x running Weapon ROM and Zeam Launcher with gestures. Tasker automation utilized for smart improvements.

 

[jnl813]

Not really if you feel that strong about BB then one can change that but it's good that you tried it. Good luck Android and iOS is not for everyone. On another not bring on iPhone 5 and Ice Cream Sandwich!!!! Oh yeah BB you guys have what planned Qnix or something like that.....

Sent from the best MoPho

 

[wezra]

BlackBerry peeps: try Tasker. You will like it. I only used a Storm for a couple months back when it was new, but I know your frustration. Android doesn't have everything perfect, but developers out there are good at making it better especially the people working on ROMs. Tasker is one app that doesn't need root and lets you make your phone better on your own. Yes, it's paid, but I think I have paid more if I had to lol.

G2x running Weapon ROM and Zeam Launcher with gestures. Tasker automation utilized for smart improvements.

Tried "Tasker" for about 5 minutes and got a refund. Way to complex for the average person... you need to be a software engineer to figure out that App. But my point is that the overall Android experience that has fallen flat for me. I understand that the new OS will be a much more enhanced experience and maybe that will do the trick. That said, I am not sure the G2x will even get the new OS when it comes out in November. I am going to wait and see if it does.. if so, I will run with that and see how it works out. If not, then I am definately going back to BB with the 9900 and OS 7.

 

[pianomanss87]

In 2 years I went through 2 storm 1. 1 storm 2. 3 9650's. I was a regular at the Verizon store. Got my dinc 2 in June. I have not been to the Verizon store once. I am amazed at how much free time I have. But I must say that I am sorry i missed out on the recent BB days long world wide outage.

Piano Man

 

[lornaevo]

For anyone who says rim has better build quality than HTC or moto, all I can ask is. Do you remember the Blackberry Tour?

 

[Jerry Hildenbrand]

I use a BB every day. Every day that BIS is working, that is

Unfortunately, once my current BB gives up the ghost, I'll have to stop. The direction RIM is heading with the OS makes the things many (like myself) need a BB for -- easy text email and messaging -- not as easy any more. OS5 sucked. OS6 was even worse. And you can't drop OS4 on a new model.

RIM will need a long time to get a BB that does media, games, or the web as well as any of the other current smartphones, and I'll just use an Android phone that does it all better.

 

[ubizmo]

I've just switched from BB 9780 to G2x. I've tried Android devices before, but always returned them after a few days and went back to RIM. I want to see if I can keep this one.

One of my reasons for switching is my heavy use of Kindle, and the fact that the BB Kindle app is not full-featured. It may seem crazy to let a single app drive the choice of platform, but if that app is one of the main reasons for having a smartphone, then you just have to go with it. Full-featured Kindle, including highlighting and annotation, exists only on iOS and Android, not BB or Windows 7.5.

Battery life is a concern, but I've found that it's impossible to judge anything by reading what people post online. Some people say that a phone's battery life is "terrible" if they have to charge it every night. I expect to charge a smartphone every night. The question is, do I have to charge it more often than that. I can't judge by the first few days when I'm spending a lot of time downloading apps, installing, uninstalling, tweaking, and fiddling with the phone. I think many people have a device for a day, see the battery drain, and immediately post somewhere about how bad the battery life is.

So we'll see how it is in a few days when things have settled down. The sales guy in the store has a G2x. He would have been just as happy to sell me a Samsung Galaxy S2, but when I pressed him about his own phone, and asked about battery life, he explained that he generally has about 20% left when he goes to bed and puts it on the charger. If I can do that, I'm satisfied. I don't do a lot of gaming or media streaming or video watching.

I haven't rooted, and don't know if I will. I'd like to get rid of some of the junk, but we'll see. With my BB, I was also one of those who was always looking for the next beta OS release. Despite that, I'm not really looking for any special pizazz in an OS. I just want to know it well enough to get things done. When I got my first BB (Curve), it was after using a SideKick for three years. The BB OS felt like a step backward. The SideKick got a lot of heat for being a "toy" device, but the OS was very well thought out. But I got used to the BB, knew where things were and how to adjust things, so now I'm going through the learning curve again with Android.

One problem with BB OS 7 is that apps are lagging. Many apps that were available for OS 6 aren't there yet for OS 7, and it's not clear whether they will all show up. Again, there's no Kindle app for BB7, and I know better than to ask Amazon whether it will come. After all, they announced there would be a Kindle app for the PlayBook 14 months ago, and that never showed up.

So for me, the bottom line questions are: Once I have the G2x set up the way I want it, will I get a day out of a charge, with normal use? And will I get the hang of text entry with the touch screen? Concerning the latter, I was one of those hardcore physical keyboard people, but I like the fact that Android has a number of keyboards to choose from. Plenty of other people have found that they could make the switch, so I'm keeping an open mind.

 

[deathwiz]

I have been a devout BB user for the past 5 yrs. 2 Pearls and the forgotten Javelin 8900. Jumped to Droid and the G2x because I got tired of waiting for the 9860, which has almost the exact same specs. What I miss about BB: instant notifications (and LED), the BB keyboard that my fingers so naturally worked with, battery life, and the "solid" feel of the devices. What I'm liking about the G2x: more customizable, better media and web experience, the speed of the device, and the abundance of apps. All tolled, if I used my phone primarily for work, I'd go back to BB. The G2x is just too much fun a device to put down. I fear, however, like the Javelin, it will become a forgotten phone. When I got my G2x it came with GB, so I missed the Froyo nightmares I've read about. And although I find myself charging 2-3 times a day, overall I'm quite satisfied with this device.